Would I lose my soul trying to do the right thing? Would darkness claim me just as it had Sawyn? I took a shallow, shuddering breath, noticing the space at last. It appeared to be a grain store, little more than a cupboard, with bags lining the walls and a set of scales sitting on a wood table.
Grae’s cool hand on my cheek made me jump. “Breathe, Calla.” He rested his cool forehead on mine.
My lungs expanded. One breath, then two. The panic slowly ebbed.
“They’re not under her spell,” I whispered.
“I thought they were as well.” Grae held my gaze. “But our plan remains the same. We rescue Maez, we kill Sawyn, and we pay off Damrienn to get Briar.” Grae breathed along with me, his own rhythm slowing mine. “Once your sister is safe, we will come up with a plan to deal with any Rooks still loyal to their fallen queen. Give them some time to realize they’re on the wrong side. You’ll feed the villages and reunite their families . . . they’ll see you’re a better ruler.”
I wrapped my arms around his back, feeling the connection that pulled me back into myself. “It’s a start.”
“We don’t need to fix the entire world tomorrow,” Grae whispered, brushing his lips against mine. “You don’t need to control every flame. Tomorrow is the spark that will set it all ablaze.”
My lips crashed into his, needing the comfort of his promise. His tongue met mine as he rumbled a pleasurable hum. The rush of panic morphed into the rush of desire. I would set it all ablaze.
His hands found my ass and hoisted me up. I hooked my legs around his hips as he pinned me back against the wall. My chest heaved against his, wanton desire burning through me.
My lips found his ear as my hand slid down his torso. “I need you inside me. Now.”
He growled against my mouth, spinning me and dropping me onto the worktable. I chuckled at the fervor with which he untied my tunic. I gripped the edge of the table as he yanked my trousers so he didn’t pull me off with them. His eyes filled with predatory heat as he scrambled to free himself and stepped back toward me. I dropped to the floor, spinning around to grab the far edge of the table, ready for him. A feral snarl escaped him as he watched me spread my legs. He prowled forward, gripping my hip and lining himself up.
He thrust inside me, filling me to the hilt, and I gasped as the sensation sent bolts of desire shooting throughout my body. He moaned, pulling out and thrusting in again. I held the table tighter, the rickety wood thudding with each wild pump. He reached around, his fingers finding my throbbing clit and circling it as he drove deep into me. Everything else faded to the recesses of my mind as my body homed in on that feeling building between my legs, unable to tell where he ended and I began. I pressed my cheek against the table, groaning at the crazed rhythm of him moving inside me.
The sound snapped his leash and Grae pulled out of me, spinning me around and lifting my ass onto the worktable. His hands hooked behind my knees and he yanked me toward him. I wrapped my hand around his cock and guided him back to my entrance. His fingers gripped my chin, making me look him in the eyes as he slowly pushed back into me. My mouth dropped open further with every inch as I watched his pupils dilate until only the tiniest rim of dark brown ringed the inky black.
“Whatever happens tomorrow,” he breathed, his voice rough with desire as he filled me, “whether we have a hundred years or one more day—we will face this world together.”
“Yes.”
He slowly inched out of me and rolled his hips in taunting thrusts. My eyelids grew heavy as my head dropped back. I tipped my hips, finding the perfect angle. His fingertips dug into my ass as he picked up the pace. Each thrust pushed me higher, his throaty groans making my skin ripple with gooseflesh and flooding my core.
I dug my heels into his hard backside, making him pump harder, needing him to fuck away every anxious thought. He pushed me down, so I lay across the table, one hand gripping the far edge as the other held my ass in place. His hard, rapid thrusts made the whole table rattle as my moans grew more desperate. My fingers clawed down his arms as he pushed me higher still, his hands digging into my flesh as he struggled to hang on. He pounded into me, again and again, hitting that spot that made my eyes roll back. With a final scream, my body spasmed, clenching around his cock as pleasure flowed through me in crashing waves. Grae growled my name, battling my tight channel as he tipped over the edge, his jerky thrusts ringing out my final rolling waves of ecstasy. My muscles flickered and my skin tingled as if I was being pricked with a thousand tiny raindrops.